Plight of the Werewolf
by Laureen Lycan
Summary: Remus and Sirius come back to Hogwarts to teach. Voldemort is dead, but Death Eaters still roam free. CHAPTER 7 UP: Remus is on the DEs hitlist and the staff worriesover him and the two student lycanthropes. And what's with Sinistra and Lupin?
1. Default Chapter

Plight of the Werewolf

A/N:  I had a dream one night that I had happened to stay up reading fan-fiction into.  The Dream involved Remus Lupin and had unfolded a small, yet intriguing plot which, when I woke up, had every intention of developing.  I don't know how long this is going to be, though I expect it to be quite lengthy if it is going to turn out anything like I hope it to.  So in other words, if you're looking for short, five-ten chapter stories – Then click the "Back" button, loves.  This isn't for you.

_Disclaimer: J.K. Rowlings owns everything in this chapter.  The plot is mine – I am only borrowing the characters for the time being._

            "SIRIUS!!!"  called Remus in a panic.

            "Sirius!…Damn it, Sirius, we have to go!" Remus yelled up the stairs of the rather disheveled looking house.  

            "I'm coming, Moony, for Merlin's sakes!  Don't get your panties in a wad!"

            The werewolf shook his head at this and kicked aside various piles of clothes strewn about the room to search for anything else that he might have overlooked.

            He had his clothes, his razor and other personal objects, his books, and various other material he'd be needing for his new job.  That, and other odds and ends he had managed to collect in the last four years since he had quit his teaching job at Hogwarts for safety purposes.   

            He had received the letter from his employer at the beginning of the summer.  Apparently, the last employee had had a horrible time working under the circumstances and finally, the treatment he got was so intense that he sent in his letter of resignation immediately before the summer.

            He obliged at once and immediately sent back his letter of acceptance.  Though he had previously held a job only a few months before as an accountant for a new local chain of stores that specialized in all sorts of potions ingredients, he had been fired a few months back.  

            With the fall of the Dark Lord, everyone was wary of who they associated with, or in the case of Remus' boss, who they _hired. _ Once people found out that he was what he was, things pressured up for old Pete Harkins and he had to lay his top accountant off.  "It's just until things cool down, Lupin," he had said.  "You know how hectic things are right now.  I'll call you."  

            It had been five months.  

            The sound of Sirius' footsteps awoke him from his thoughts and Remus was pleased to see that his best friend had actually taken the time to _pack_ this time.  His friend had a habit of throwing random objects into a suitcase at the last minute.

            As if reading his thoughts, Sirius grinned.

            "You're brushing off on me, 'gain, Moony."

            Grinning back, Remus straightened up, bag in hand.  

            "After two years?" Remus joked teasingly.  "Took me longer than I thought."  He glanced down at his watch.

            Sirius was about to retort when he was drowned out by Remus' sharp proclamation of, "We're late!" and with that, they both disapparated.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            "Honestly, you two!"  Hermione scolded, looking at the boys' fork fight over her book.

            Harry grinned sheepishly and set his fork down after carefully pulling it from the clutches of Ron's offending one.  

            "And you're supposed to be seventh years!"  Hermione set _Arithmancy For the Seventh Year Student_ down and frowned at Ron who only shrugged and stuffed his face with yet another Chocolate Frog. 

            Uptight, overly-matured Hermione though she might pretend to be, this girl had been Harry's best friend for going on seven years now.  Even as she buried her face behind a book entitled, _The Rights and Treatment of Werewolves over the Twentieth Century_, he knew she was secretly fighting a smile.

            Sitting back into the plush red seat of the _Hogwart's Express_, Harry glanced at the book with little interest.

            "Getting ahead on our History now, are we, Hermione?"

            She lowered the book.  "Eh…" she shook her head.  "Not for Binns, no."

            Ron ran a hand through his trademark flaming hair and sat up.  

            "Oh,"  he reached over and added the card he found in his Chocolate Frog to the pile he and Harry had been starting.  "Defense Against the Dark Arts, then?"

            Hermione uttered a small "tuh" and shook her head.  "Is it wrong to show some interest in the plight that werewolves have been facing since…" she paused and flipped a few pages in her book.  

            "Since Peter Stubbe was discovered in 1591?"

            The boys' reactions would have been enough to bring Hermione to laugh had the reason not been of such importance to her.

            Ron shot his head up and ended up scattering the tall pile of collector's cards all over the floor.  Harry's eyes widened and he choked on one of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans.  Though whether this was due to a sudden feeling of _deja vou_ or simply because the Bean he had swallowed was vomit-flavored, Hermione didn't know. 

            "Hermione…" started Ron, letting a groan escape his lips.  "You're not going to start another S.P.E.W. are you? Society for the Protection of Endangered Werewolves…?"

            Hermione pursed her lips but didn't get to answer because at that moment, they were interrupted by their compartment doorknob rustling.  

            Ron's brown eyes flashed dangerously and he jumped up.  "Malfoy," was the only audible thing he uttered before he snatched out his wand and pointed it toward the door.

            Both Hermione and Harry leapt up, but suprisingly, they both started screaming at him to put his wand down.

            But as the door opened, Ron let out a loud _"Rictusempra!!"_ sending a silvery light shooting toward the door.

            Hermione covered her mouth in a gasp and Harry shut his eyes in horror as a boy and a girl their age got the wind knocked out of them, then proceeded to fall to the ground in hysterical laughter.

            Ron's eyes widened and he opened his mouth only to let out a low squeak of surprise. 

            Harry and Hermione were so caught up in explaining how Malfoy and his family dissapeared after the defeat of Voldemort the previous year that they forgot all about the chortling young man and woman on the ground amongst the Wizard Trading Cards.             

            That is, until Remus Lupin and Sirius Black stepped into the room.

            Remus, the one with most experience in these matters, stepped in first.  "What's going on in—" but he stopped in mid-sentence.  "Ron? (Who still had his wand oustretched)"  He blinked.  "And…" he looked down but found with much surprise that he didn't recognize the still-giggling young couple on the ground.

            At this point, Sirius stepped in.  "Finite Incantatem!"

            _A/N:  Okay, everyone!  Just a little taste of what I have of the story so far.  Yes!  I _am _going to be selfish and ask for reviews to see how the story's coming along so far!  Just a little "Yea" or "Nay" is what I'm asking for.(Though I wouldn' t object to a **gasp!**  Dare I say it?!…_Constructive_ review!)  I really want to see if people are going to like this story.  **sigh** Though, yes, I would probably continue this story even if everyone hated it…  I should come up with the next chapter very quickly should people like it.  Like I said, I only posted a little taste of what I had so far._

_I derived Peter Stubbe and the year from a real source.  If anyone cares to look further into it, the address is:_ http://members.tripod.com/alam25__


	2. Pangs of Familiarity

 Pangs of Familiarity

A/N: I made a mistake in the disclaimer in the previous chapter.  The young couple in the hallway belongs to me.  Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowlings.

"…so you can see, Professor," Hermione continued excitedly, "We have the basic grounds to start the organization!" 

            Professor Lupin glanced down at the photograph in Hermione's book.  It showed a pack of wolves with their heads tilted up toward the moon.  He looked up and across the compartment to Sirius, his expression clearly a cry for help.

            Sirius grinned and took the book out of Hermione's lap.  While she looked as if  she wanted to protest, she remained silent.  He flipped a few pages in the book and glanced at each for a short short but polite period of time.  

            Sirius had gotten much fuller and actually quite built over the last two years he had been a free man.  His hair was black and had a sort of shine to it.  He had decided to keep it long and it hung in a low ponytail.  His skin no longer was stretched around his bones, but around his muscles and had a healthy glow to it.  He was 6'4 and his black eyes held a spark to them that no one had seen since before the stress of keeping Voldemort at bay held him down.

To the left of him sat Harry.  Seventeen and standing at six feet even, he had shot up during the past three years.  His jet-black hair was still unruly, but he was leaner and his muscles were slightly toned.  He had a light tan from working out in the yard during the summer and he had gotten contacts which seemed to enhance his eyes' jaded look.  All in all, he was no longer the small, scrawny boy that had come to Hogwart's six years before.  Despite the fact that his godfather was now a free man, having been cleared of the charges in Harry's fifth year, he still lived with the Dursleys.  Dumbledore assured them that this was simply a precaution and that, by living with blood relations, there were strong protection spells that could be used.  Even though Voldemort had been defeated at the end of the previous year, there were still small mobs of Death Eaters that were all intent on destroying the Boy-Who-Lived…among other things.  Sirius had finally accepted this after a few of his…charming…protests, and settled upon renting a small house in the country with his favorite werewolf.  Harry often came to visit him as he had been granted a special apparation license from the ministry in his previous year.

            Across from Harry, Remus was pressed back against the seat as if trying to get as far away from Hermione as he could get.  He smiled more often now, many suspected this because he had one of his best friends back, and he, too, and grown fuller.  His smile was nothing short of dazzling, as his teeth were ruler-straight and his lycanthropy had made them a sparkly white.  He was 6'3, no longer skinny and underfed, but slim and while he wasn't exactly buff, he was very trim.  His hair still had the occasional streak of silver in them, but a lot of it, (much like his stress) had dissapeared.  His amber eyes seemed to almost shimmer when he laughed and his robes in very good condition.

To the left Remus, at the end of the compartment sat Hermione, chewing on her lower lip as she watched Sirius flipping through the pages of _Dances With Werewolves._  She had filled out over the summer of her fifth year, and while she was no super-model, she had developed some very feminine curves.  She had grown a little taller (5'6) and had stumbled upon a quick and effective straightening charm for her hair.  Her eyesight had worsened in her sixth year (From all that reading, according to Ron), and she had had to wear glasses for a short period of time.  In the end, she had gotten contacts about the same time Harry did.

            On the other side of Harry sat Ron who was pretending to be looking out the window, though in reality secretly stealing glances at the girl sitting next to Remus. He had remained more or less the same, except that he had grown (6'5) and he had gotten muscular from both playing as a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and from working at the twins' Weasley's Wizard Wheezes for the past two summers.

            Sitting at the other side of Remus was a girl with, wavy, golden brown hair that fell past her slim neck down to just under her shoulders and was currently pulled back into a low pony-tail.  She was about 5,5 and she was very slim, almost to the point of being thin.  Her name was Lynn and she had dark honey-colored eyes surrounded by long eyelashes.  Her body was curved very nicely without being very filled-out.  She was quiet and didn't speak much, though they all assumed she was just nervous around them due to Ron's tickling charm.  She seemed oblivious to Ron's discreet staring and only glanced at her brother from time to time. 

            Her brother sat to the right of her.  At first glance, one wouldn't think they were related, as Allen was 6'1 and seemed paler than Lynn, but perhaps this was enhanced because he had raven-colored hair.  When one looked more closely, however, they could see that his eyes were just a few shades paler than his sister's and, though he had lightly-toned muscles, he too was somewhat thin.  Their noses were very straight and had a discreet upward curve and seemed to fit their faces perfectly.  

            Sirius had engaged Hermione into a conversation about her History of Magic class, and had rescued Remus from her rantings about S.P.E.W.  Binns had retired the year before and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the first students to find out.  They were all quite pleased when they discovered that Sirius and Remus were their new History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, respectively.

            After Sirius had put an end to the tickling charm, the three Gryffindors had offered countless apologies and explanations to the Alkaiser's.  They had each introduced themselves and they discovered that Allen and Lynn had both been homeschooled by various tutors.  Upon questioning, they seemed very closed on the topic and glanced at each other a lot.  After that, both of the professors and the three other students avoided the matter altogether.

            Though they were both polite, Lynn and Allen both had very different temperments.  Lynn was quiet, but friendly enough when spoken to.  Rather much like a curious fox who was nice enough when approached properly, but would prefer to be left to her own doings.  Allen was polite when addressed, though he was very formal and closed about everything.  He was like a wolf who would tolerate you so long as you kept your distance.

            As the train went on, the track of conversation switched from Remus' and Sirius' new professions to the classes and their professors.  Once in a while, Lynn would ask a question and many of them would follow up on it, as if to encourage her to speak up.  Allen seemed content in staring out at the scenery rushing by.

            "So, Professor Lupin," Hermione started, turning toward Remus.  "Whatever happened to that job you held at _Peter's Potion Products_?"

They had all, upon insistance, been kept aware of how he had been keeping up.  

Remus groaned inwardly having detected the false innocence behind her voice and he suspected that Ron did also because he tactically changed the subject.

            He turned to Allen for about the fifth time since he had entered the train compartment.  He seemed determined to engage Allen in a topic that captured his interest.

            "So, Allen, do you play Quidditch?"

            For the first time during the trip, Allen showed a spark of interest and turned from the window. 

            "I don't get to play very much, but I've been told I'm a pretty good Seeker and Beater," he offered, a hint of a smile on his pale face.

            This drew Harry and Sirius into the conversation and Hermione and Lynn each met each others eyes from either side of Remus.  They both looked away with small smiles, each knowing what the subject of conversation for the rest of the trip would be. 

            This was when Remus first noticed it.

            When Lynn had broken her eye contact with the Gryffindor on his other side, her eyes had lingered on him for a moment.  

            He didn't know what hit him harder; the color of her eyes or the expression he saw in them.

            Her eyes;  they were a very rare and stunning color, and he had felt he had seen eyes that color somewhere before…  

            He was entranced by the color and _felt_ something when they made eye-contact and stared directly into them for what seemed like an eternity.

            He was deeply embarassed and was sure he flushed somewhat when she broke the stare first.  In an effort to reclaim himself, he pulled his pocket watch from the deep recesses of his professor's robe and pretended to be studying it while he thought upon the matter.  

            He had felt it only a moment – just a single, fleeting moment before it had gone away.  And from the expression on her face, he wasn't the only one that had felt it.  

            _Could it possibly be…?  _He shut his eyes in horror for a short moment.  Could it be attraction?  She was a very pretty girl, after all, for one her age.  He opened his amber eyes and glanced back at her.

            _No, no…_he mused thoughtfully.  It wasn't attraction.  He glanced at her again and this time, her eyes met his and he saw the same fleeting expression in them again.  This time, he broke away first.

            So if it wasn't attraction, just what was it, then? 

            He put his pocket watch away and pondered upon the matter.

            It was something…it was a something like a pang of _familiarity_.  

            _Yes! _he thought.  _That's what it is._ Familiarity.  There was something about the girl that struck him as being very familiar.  

            But there was something else in her eyes.  It was as if…

            _As if she recognized me._

            He blinked and shook himself mentally, suddenly aware of the drone of the Quidditch discussion around him.  He glanced around him, wondering if anyone had noticed him spacing out.

            That wasn't the case.  Hermione was engulfed in her book, Lynn was watching the forest go by, and Sirius, Ron, Harry, and Allen were busy talking Quidditch.

            That was impossible.  The girl couldn't have seen him before.  He had never seen her before in his life.  

            _So then why does she seem so familiar?_ a tiny voice in his head asked him.

            His thoughts were interrupted by the screeching of the train.  They had arrived.

A/N: I know, I know, it's pretty short.  By the way, if anyone has read my "The Exchange Students" or "If She Only Knew", you'll notice that the character Lynn Alkaiser turns up a lot and usually around Remus Lupin.  While her looks and age differ throughout the stories, you'll find that much of her temperment is the same among all of them. 


	3. Special Circumstances

Special Circumstances

A/N:  I have often wondered which professor, exactly, was the Head of Ravenclaw.  I have searched throughout the books, but as far as I can tell, J.K. Rowlings has never came out and said who it was.  So unless someone can point out in (Merciful heavens, a REVIEW!!)  who exactly has the honor of being in charge of the house, I will assume it is our lovely Professor Sinistra who is, unless I'm not much mistaken, the astronomy professor.

The ride from the Hogsmeade train station to  Hogwarts was anything but routine.  

Even as Ron was planning on sitting next to Lynn on the coach-ride to the wizarding school, Remus had headed toward the professors' compartment to join his colleagues in the professors' coach later on.  The conductor had announced it was approximately twenty minutes before arrival and Remus had both grown weary of the incessant quidditch jabbering and the frequent feelings of _deja-vou _towardthis Lynnette Alkaiser.   He figured he'd leave Sirius both to keep order in the compartment and to spend some time with his godson before classes started.  

He set his bags down onto the floor with a thud and brush a strand of hair out of his face.

He lowered his hand to open the door, but he was beat to it by  Minerva McGonagall.

She stared at him and it was apparent that it took her a few moments to recognize him.__

_            My, but he changed_, the deputy headmistress thought as she scanned him over with her eyes.

            Still thin, she mused, placing a hand on the doorframe.  But he looked much healthier now and it was apparent that he wasn't living a life as strenuous as the one before since some of the silver in his hair had left him.  

            Looking him over once again, she noticed that his robes were brand-new and he carried a bit more luggage than he had four years ago.

            "Remus," she smiled at him, briefly wrapping him in a hug which he warmly returned.

"It's good to have you back again," she said, releasing him from her almost motherly embrace.

Indeed, when he had come in his first year, looking pale and sickly, the woman could not help but feel something maternal toward the child who had obviously been emotionally torn by his lycanthropy at such a young age.  And, as she had never had any children of her own, she had more or less become this boy's home-away-from-hom mother while he been in Gryffindor, and as such, under her care.

"Minerva!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"What are you doing here?  I thought that as Deputy Headmistress, you'd already be up at the castle?" he inquired more than stated of her, raising a worried eyebrow.

Hearing a rustling behind her, the Transfiguration professor was suddenly aware of her colleagues behind her.

She lowered her voice.  

"Yes, well," she cleared her throat, "Special circumstances arose, Remus."

Then, as an afterthought, she added, "I'm sure you'll find out about that later," ignoring the intrigued look on his curious face.

He didn't have time to respond as Professor Sinistra, as well as the other professors in the back, suddenly caught sight of him.

            Snape, unfortunately, was included.

            "Lupin," the Potion's Master snarled, narrowing his eyes immediately.  

            "Where's that dolt that follows you around like a puppy do--"

"Lupin!" Sinistra suddenly cried out, drowning Severus out.  Though whether this was intentional or not, Remus wasn't quite sure.  Judging by the broad smile upon her cheerful face, she was obviously ecstatic to see him.

Remus grinned.  "Hello, Sylvia!" 

He had always liked the woman.  She had graduated Hogwarts and automatically returned to teach in his fourth year.  She had become the Head of Ravenclaw the year after and it was a joke between her and Minerva that the Sorting Hat had made a mistake and was too intellectual to belong in Gryffindor.

What Remus had never told either of them was that the Sorting Hat had actually intended on placing him in the House of the Intelligent.

"Plenty of loyalty," the Sorting Hat had said.  "Lots of courage in you, too…  Ambition, yes, but heavens!," it explaimed.  "You wouldn't be happy in Slytherin at all."

"Eh…what's this?" it had suddenly inquired.  "You have an extraordinary amount of intelligence!  This settles it!  You obviously belong in –"

"_NO!!_" Remus had thought feverishly, jamming the hat down further on his head.  "Put me with James and Sirius!!"

"Eh…all right, then, if that's what you want, then it's---"

Remus felt himself pulled down from his flashbacks by many of the professors and he settled down next to Sylvia.  Looking around with a boyish little grin on his face, his smile was suddenly shot down by the look that Severus had shot him.  He had obviously wanted the  Defense Against the Dark Arts position again this year…

 Mercifully, his stare was broken away by Flitwick's high-pitched voice. 

"How are you holding out for yourself, dear lad?" asked the kindly professor, who was sitting on his trunk in order to be seen from behind his towering colleagues.

"Quite good in fact," Remus replied with a good-natured smile.  "I held a job at a local chain of potion ingredient stores(At this, many of the professors offered a glance at Severus who merely scowled and looked out the window), but I was laid off after…" he broke off and the other professors nodded  knowingly.

"These are hard times," Sylvia said softly.

To everyone's surprise, Severus spoke, though he didn't remove his gaze from the window.  "Yes…you never know who you can and cannot trust these days."

"Then again," he said suddenly, turning to the werewolf.

"There are some creatures who should never be trusted, regardless the times," he glared, an icy tone to his voice.

Remus flushed at this and Severus was awarded by several rather hostile glares coming from the Astronomy and Transfiguration professors.

At that moment, the train stopped and the Potion's professor was saved from several biting remarks from Sylvia Sinistra.

Severus at once stood up from his seat and opened the door, glancing back to give Remus a glare.

Turning back, he took a step, then fell flat on his face after tripping on Remus' luggage which had been left outside the compartment.

A number of snorts were heard coming from the professors' compartment and when he hastily stood up,  he found himself looking into Sirius Black's smiling face.

            After Severus stalked off with as much dignity as he could muster, Sirius turned back to the professors, flashing them one of his infamous, mischievous grins.

            "He didn't seem too happy about seeing me again, did he?" he remarked cheerfully.

             Remus shook his head and picked up his bags, obviously amused, despite his efforts to seem neutral about the entire episode.

             He was about to exit the _Hogwart's Express_ when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

             Turning back idly, he saw a curious look on the Deputy Headmistress' face.

             "Ah…Remus," she started, eying Sirius over Remus' shoulder.  

             The HoM professor raised his eyebrows, but nodded and went on his way, understanding the look as a signal to leave.

             Remus looked after his friend a moment then turned back to McGonagall.  His expression was one of question and the look only increased when he saw Sinistra standing next to her, her own bags in hand. 

             Sylvia watched his eyes trail over behind her and saw him blink in surprise when he saw the women's two newest students.

             Remus was silent for most of the coach ride back to Hogwarts.  Minerva was sitting in front of him on the red-velvet-lined coach, Lynn was sitting quietly in between himself and Sylvia, and Allen was sitting next to the Transfiguration professor to her right, just in front of his sister.

             He heard his former teacher explain how the Alkaisers had both been home-schooled for the past six years and he nodded dumbly, waiting for the idle chat to die out before she got to the point.  

            He turned away from the Gryffindor Head as she spoke and looked at Allen who was gazing at the Hogwart's coat of arms on both sides of the coach.  Remus felt a small crawl on his skin and he then glanced at Lynn who looked up at the same time.  Their eyes met and once again, he felt that sense of familiarity, but this time, he felt a small feeling of warmth down in the pit of his stomach.  

            He broke their eye-contact to turn back towards McGonagall and it wasn't until then that he realized…

            Amber eyes.  

            The girl didn't have light brown eyes as it seemed on first-glance.

            She had amber eyes, a similar color to his.  He supposed it was off by only a shade or two.  She was a…

            He was suddenly aware of Minerva's casual small-talk in the back of his head, but he wasn't looking at her.

            His eyes were upon the Ravenclaw professor and he continued watching her until she turned around.

            She smiled a little when she turned to face him, but her smile dropped at the mixture of alarm, shock, and horror on his face.  

            _So he found out by himself_ she mused to herself, flashing him a smile as if to reassure him.  She wasn't at all surprised.  She had suspected that he would find out on his own.  Werewolves had a knack at recognizing each other, or so she had heard somewhere.  If anything, she was surprised he hadn't realized it sooner when he had been in the same train compartment with the Alkaisers earlier.  

            "Lynn and Allen have been sorted already," Minerva's voice rang in his head.

            "Eh…?"  

             He winced in self-disgust shortly after.  He hadn't meant to make it obvious that he had been ignoring everything she had been saying.

             His former professor looked annoyed that he had been drowning her out, and she repeated herself sternly.

             "I said, Remus," she said shortly.  "That Allen and Lynn Alkaiser have been sorted into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, respectively."

             Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Allen glance at the woman next to him, his sister, then back out the window.

             "Oh…"  What else could he say?

             The sleek black coach pulled through the gates of the school and Remus opened his door first, politely holding it open for Lynn and Sylvia to get through.  

             He closed the door after them and when he turned around, he saw Minerva waiting for him.             __

            So…she waits  until they're gone to get to the point.

             She carefully looked around once as if to make sure no one was within earshot.

             "Remus," she said, looking him in the eye, brown eyes meeting amber.  "There's something you should know about them," she said slowly.       

            He picked his bags up and smiled good-naturedly at her.  He decided to go ahead and let her explain the situation to him.

            _It wouldn't hurt, _he thought to himself, smirking inwardly.  _Go on and let her feel she's done her job adequately._

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            The castle towered over them, the dim lights shining in the eye-like windows, making it seem alive against the black night sky.

            "You think we'll ever see it again?" Harry breathed, his eyes upon the castle and the midnight sky it dwelled in.  "Like this, I mean."

            Hermione looked thoughtful at his words while Ron merely smirked and slapped his friend on the back.

            "Cheer up, you big prat," he grinned, his trademark Weasley grin illuminating his face all the way up to his bright scalp.  "We still have an entire year to wreck mischief and mayhem all over the school."

            Hermione rolled her eyes and adjusted the badge that contrasted so sharply against the black school robes.  

            She had, of course, been made Head Girl.  And as far as that went with her two best friends, (as well as with the rest of the school) there were no surprises there.

            They all took one last look at Hogwarts against the night sky before they marched up the path and into the castle.

            The Sorting had been even better than Sirius had remembered.  

            Watching the nervous-looking first years scramble up onto the stool had brought back flashes of his own Sorting.  

            He had been nervous, yes, but he would never had admitted it to anyone.  Behind that confident smirk and the mischievous glint in his eye, he was scared.    
            What if he had been placed into Hufflepuff?  he had wondered.  _Or worse,_ he thought.  _Slytherin._

Before he knew it, he heard the witch with the rectangular lenses shouted, "Black, Sirius!"  And instead of scampering up to the stool like his stomach was telling him to, he forced himself to walk casually across the Great Hall, waving to many of the students, many of which he already  knew.

            The hat hadn't taken long – almost as soon as he placed the senile hat upon his head, it had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!!!"

            The sudden appearance of food on his golden plate stirred him out of his reminiscing.  He picked up his fork from the mahogany table and looked around him once again.

            His eyes darted over to the House banners briefly, his eyes resting on the red and golden-colored one bearing the "G" and the lion.  He looked below it and his eyes skimmed over students, settling upon the trio Remus was fond of calling the, "New-Age Marauders."

            Allowing himself a brief stare at his godson, he was about to turn away when he noticed the boy sitting next to Ron glance over at him.

            _No…_he thought.  _Not looking at me…_  

            He was looking at Moony.

            Raising an eyebrow,  he took a bite of his steak and jabbed Remus in the ribs inconspicuously under the table.

            He swallowed the piece of meat ravenously and didn't look up when he felt Remus' eyes on him.      

            "What's with the kid?" he muttered under his breath, picking up a forkful of mashed potatoes.  He gestured it toward the Gryffindor table in a very slight movement.

            Remus' gaze traveled over to the table and he didn't notice anything strange until Allen glanced up at him.  Remus flashed him a polite smile, which he returned for a split-second before returning to his plate.

            "I'm not entirely sure," Remus confessed softly, taking a sip of his soup and trying to ignore the crawl on his skin.

Dljewel:  I think that answers your question. ^_^ 

_Angela:  Me?!  Make REMUS out to be homosexual?  Would I make the man I adore out to be gay?  Come on…  You know me better than that.  ~_^_


	4. And the Moon Shines Down on Hogwarts...

Lycanthropy

A/N:  It was humorous, because on the night I was writing Remus' transformation, just as I finished, LeAnn Rimes' "Can't Fight The Moonlight" came on at about 4:00 a.m.

Disclaimer:  Lynn and Allen Alkaiser are the only characters that belong to me in this story.  

Lycanthropy:  The ability to change into a werewolf 

**_or any other animal._**

****

            Sirius glanced over at his friend worriedly.

            Remus was panting softly, his face flushed, and his normally somber amber eyes suddenly pulsing with a steadily increasing glow.  He had a glaze of sweat on his forehead and he hadn't touched his food.

            At the Gryffindor table, Allen was in a similar state, only he was viciously attacking his food with his fork, devouring it ravenously.  His face was, likewise, flushed and his eyes were glowing.  Harry and Ron were throwing each other odd glances from across their famished acquaintance.

            Meanwhile, to one side of the Gryffindor table, Lynn was gently picking at her food, her eyes slowly growing brighter as the moon started to rise.  She whimpered inaudibly and across the Great Hall, her brother's eyes met hers. 

            They both excused themselves from the table and left to go wait just outside the doors of the Great Hall. The eyes of three professors, Lupin, Sinistra, and McGonagall trailed them, and the first got up and followed them out of the banquet hall.

            The Alkaisers were waiting for him outside, and in a few moments, they were joined by professors McGonagall and Sinistra.

            "Are you sure you're all right with this, Remus?" asked Sylvia, walking behind Lynn and gently gripping the girl's shoulders protectively.  The witch held a great deal of responsibility for the well-being of the students in her house, true, but Remus was her friends and she wanted to make sure she received his consent.  

            Remus nodded, only managing to give her a weak smile.

            Lynn and Allen glanced at each other and Remus noticed that they were clutching each other's hands behind their backs.

            He raised his ever-brightening eyes toward the Deputy Headmistress.  

            "I'm sure about this, Minerva," he said, his voice a bit hoarse.

            He gave the two teenagers a small smile which only Lynn returned.  

            "It's their first time in the castle, after all."

            The Gryffindor Head nodded and the Astronomy professor released her student's shoulders.  

            Sighing, the two professors each looked at their students then gave Remus a nod.

            He folded his hands behind his jet-colored robes and peered down at the two flushed students whose eyes were getting brighter and brighter by the moment.

            They were being very quiet, though whether this was their nature or because this was how they got during the full moon, he couldn't tell.

            "Well," he said, in the same gruff voice.  "Off we go, then" and he turned on his heel and swept off, the two students following close behind, their hands now unclasped.  Lynn followed directly after Lupin while Allen drew in a short distance behind.

The transformations weren't what he expected at all.

            They were all locked in Remus' office, the furniture safely outside the room lit only by the light of the full moon.

            He soon could figure out which was the younger, or at least less powerful lycanthrope.

            Remus felt his heart wrench as the younger male let out an anguished scream.  His back arched and his figure grew out, hair sprouting all over his body, his ears and nose lengthening, teeth gnashing, snapping mercilessly at something which only he could see…

            Remus watched, both horror and pity in his glowing eyes when a painful spasm racked through his own body.  He gasped, opening his eyes just in time to see coppery-colored fur spread over Lynn's own body.

            _Fight it…_ some instinct in Remus told him.  _Fight it the transformation…_

But it was pointless, he knew, and he allowed himself to drop down on all fours onto the dark green carpet, another tremor wrenching its way up his spine, forcing a gasp on its way out.

            He looked up, wheezing for breath, suddenly taken by surprise to see Lynn, not growing, but seeming to shrink down into her robes.  Allen, meanwhile, was laying down, his robes behind him, a grey wolf, alternating glances between Remus and his sister.

            Remus held a hand in front of his face, seeing dark brown fur sprout on it and he cried out, his own spine arching, feeling his nose and ears lengthening, his robes, having been left unbuttoned, falling off as his hands and feet transformed into paws, his mouth into a long snout.        

            When he opened his eyes, now transformed, he tilted his head in surprise and blink when he saw a bundle of robes in front of him.

            He turned his head over to the grey wolf on his left who proceeded to walk over and, taking Lynn's robes in his mouth, gently pulled them back to reveal the shape of a medium-sized, copper-colored fox, sitting in the mass of cloth.  Remus blinked, seeing the creature scratch its ear casually.

            Remus sat down and caught the fox giving her brother something like a grateful look for relieving her of the unnecessary.  

            Turning from each other, the siblings settled their eyes upon Remus who suddenly stiffened and backed away warily.  

A terrible thought  occurred to him that Snape might not have prepared a Wolfsbane potion for the two students.

            His worries were suddenly erased when the vixen stole over to him and laid her head down on her paws, looking up at him as if to say, "Was this all you were worried about?"

            The younger wolf merely glanced over them, turned away and looked out the window as if preferring to stay out of such affairs.  

The moon was now rising slowly over the edge of the Forbidden Forest and Allen suddenly sat up straight and howled, snout pointed toward the moon.  He was soon joined by Remus who let out a deep, piercing howl in comparison to Allen's low, but shallow-sounding one. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            In the morning, Remus woke up to find Lynn sleeping peacefully in between himself and Allen, both fully clothed.  

            Quite embarassed, he was suddenly glad he had fallen asleep with his robes over him and he stood up quietly, quickly fastening his robes over himself.

            Out of the corner of his dimming eyes, he saw the girl shiver from the sudden lack of warmth and he conjured up a midnight blue blanket over her, letting it sink down and envelop her in its folds.

            He covered his mouth in a quiet yawn and looked back down at the girl, suddenly remembering the previous night's transformation.

            _Funny,_ he thought to himself, looking at the girl curiously.  _Were-foxes aren't unheard of, but theyt _are_ supposed to be very rare._

He'd have to go look the matter up somewhere.  He was hardly up to asking Lynn about it.

            Turning his attention back to her brother, he winced, Allen's anguished scream ringing in his head once again.

            _He fought,_ he mused to himself.  _The boy still tries to fight it, even after all these –_

            He stopped his thoughts there and wondered just how long they both had been victims of the curse

Now that he thought of it, it was not only strange that both siblings were lycanthropes, but that each had a different form of lycanthropy.

            He made a mental note to look into that matter, also.

            Remus winced suddenly, a wave of exhaustion passing over him.  He allowed himself to sit down by the doorway, waiting for the two to wake up.

_A/N:  It's short, I know, but I haven't updated anything for a while and I don't want people to think I had died or something…_


	5. Lunar Charts

**Lunar Charts**

_A/N:  Don't worry, people, there **is** a plot, I just haven't gotten to it just yet.  I haven't gotten many reviews for this, but no matter.  I shall continue writing this faithfully._

Remus ascended the staircase, slowly making his way up the plush stairway to the tall tower that was the home of Sylvia Sinistra. 

            Why he hadn't thought of this before was a mystery to him, but all the same, he was glad he had thought of it sooner rather than later.

            He finally reached the top of the tower, after what seemed like an eternity of stairs.  Taking a breath to steady himself, he stood before the oaken door and raised a fist to the door.

            Sylvia stepped out of the shower upon hearing a knock and narrowed her silvery eyes. 

            _Who'd come calling at this time of the night?_  she wondered in aggravation.

            Muttering to herself about discourteous late-night visitors, she pulled on a dark gray bathrobe and walked out of the bathroom to answer the door.

            The rapping of the door was repeated and she let out an extended sigh of exasperation.

            "I'm coming, I'm coming!  Just a moment!" 

            She cursed silently upon noticing the trail of wet foot marks.

            Turning her attention away from the droplets of water raining crudely down on her carpet, she flung open the door and felt her mouth drop open in surprise.

            "Remus!" she cried in delight, a smile creeping along her face.

            He grinned meekly back at her and her smile dissipated at his weakened and pallid appearance.

            She frowned slightly.

            "You should be resting," she murmured.

             Remus only grinned and looked at his colleague up and down once in amusement.

            "And you, my dear Professor Sinistra," he leaned in the doorway casually, smirking at her.  "Should get dressed before you catch your death of cold in that robe."

            She looked at him in confusion and opened her mouth as if to question him.

Following his eyes, she glanced down at her attire and let out a small shriek of embarrassment.

            Remus only laughed softly and entered, shutting the door after him as Sylvia ran off to dress herself properly. 

            While she was occupied, he allowed himself to take a tour of the living room he had stepped into.     

            It was very nicely furnished – the room was made up of a beige carpet that went nicely with the light-colored wooden furniture.  She had a fair-sized brick fire-place in the center of one wall and lovely, but uncomfortable-looking off-white couches surrounded it.  

She had quite a lot of portraits on the walls, he noticed; mainly naturistic scenes of deserts and sandy beaches – perhaps she had a thing for nature? To the right corner rested a white grand piano laden with sheet music.

            The last sight made Remus smile fondly in remembrance of younger days when he used to pass by the Astronomy Tower in between classes and hear his professor drumming out melodies on the instrument.

            At that moment, Sylvia walked back in wearing jeans, a black sweatshirt, and thick, comfortable-looking socks.  Each article of clothing looked as if if had been thrown on at the last minute.  Her raven-colored hair was now dry and he wondered momentarily if she had used a charm on it.

            She shot him a sheepish look and…was that a blush?

            His dulling amber eyes showed a flash of amusement in them that wasn't wasted on her.

            She strode over to him, her thumbs in her back belt loops and flashed him an embarrassed smile.

            "Would you like to go into the den?  It's far more comfortable than this show-room," she gestured with a hand toward the finely-furnished room and he recalled suddenly that she didn't live off of her teacher's salary alone.

            She led him into a room to the right of the fire-place and he found himself in a midnight-blue carpeted room decorated by various dark woods. 

            The room was smaller, but much more comfortable-looking, he noted to himself.  There was a fire place in the corner surrounded by a pleasantly squashy-looking loveseat and two couches that closely matched the wood and carpet color.  

            Bookshelves aligned the walls laden with scrolls and books engraved with titles such as, _Movements of the Planets and their Satellites_, and _Constellations: The Patterns of the Skies._  

            In between the bookshelves there were posters and detailed diagrams of the Milky Way galaxy as well as others whose names he couldn't recall.

            She gestured for Remus to take a seat and he did so, settling himself in an armchair and leaving her to curl up in the one opposite of him.

            As they sat down, a coffee table sprung up between them offering them two steaming mugs.  A few feet in front of it, the fireplace suddenly crackled, alight with a warm fire.

            Sylvia reached over to pick up her cup of French Vanilla cappuccino and Remus, seeing this, did the same.

            His eyes closed momentarily and he rolled the mouthful of cappuccino around a bit. 

            Irish Cream.  

            Amazing how she remembered after all this time.

            She watched him savor the taste of his preferred flavor and allowed herself a slight smile.  He glanced up at her and she quickly set her mug down on a napkin upon the table.

            He set his own cup down and he looked up at her, a warm smile alighting his features.  He glanced down at the cappuccino and voiced his thoughts:

            "It's amazing how you remembered my preference after all this time." 

            His eyes snapped back up to meet hers and she shrugged nonchalantly.

            "Lucky guess?" she smiled sheepishly and avoided his eyes.

            Remus blinked.

            "Oh…yes, quite lucky…" he murmured, letting his eyes stray over to the fire.

            She picked up the mug again and let it envelop her hands with its warmth.

            "So what brings you here tonight, Remus?"

            "Hmm? Oh, yes, of course."

            He sat up in his chair and took a sip from his mug.

            "Well, you are aware of my," he hesitated, lowering his mug to his lap.  "_Condition_…every month." 

            She shot him a wary glance, and seeing that he seemed mellow enough, relaxed back into her armchair.

            She nodded and waited for him to continue.

            He gently ran his fingers around the rim of the cup before continuing.

            "And some months…the transformations," he shivered a little and leaned just the slightest bit closer to the fire.  

            "Are worse than others," he whispered.

            Sylvia took a sip from her mug and watched him carefully as he went on, noticing how he didn't look at her most of the time he explained.

            When he had finished, she set her cup of cappuccino down.

            "So you want me to supply you with a chart of the lunar movements each month?" 

            He nodded.  

            "You see, the moon controls my…transformations…and while we know it occurs during the full moon, no study has ever been made to decipher just whether or not the position of the moon affects…" he trailed off and lowered his eyes.

            She nodded understandingly and gazed into the fire for a short period.

            "Well," he said suddenly and stood up, his mug drained and set upon the coffee table.

            He flashed her a small smile.

            "I seem to have taken up enough of your time, Sylvia, I'm sorry for bursting in at this hour of the night."

            She stood and led him out to the door.    

            "It's really no trouble at all, Remus."  

            She looked up at him.  "In fact, I rather missed your visits while you were away."

            He blinked in mild surprise and smiled at her, the action taking years off his face.

            She gazed at him, suddenly having flashbacks of a laughing teenage Lupin, pulling pranks and generally getting into mischeif with his friends.

            It wasn't until he gave her a questioning look that she realized she had been staring.

            "Yes, well, goodnight, Remus, and don't hesitate to come and visit me," she said softly.

"It _does_ get lonely up here, you know, with only the stars for company," she said slowly.

He nodded once.  "I'll keep that in mind…  Goodnight, Sylvia."

"Goodnight, Remus."

She watched him turn and descend down the stairway, his robes flowing behind him.

_A/N:  Yes, yes, it's short, I know, but I updated this quickly, don't you think?  I think I'll be working on _The Exchange Students_, next as I've been neglecting it.  So…stay tuned, or something.___


	6. An Unlikely Friend/ The Meeting

-

An Unlikely Friend

Disclaimer:  Blaise Zabini, Sibyl Trelawny, Severus Snape, and Professor Flitwick all belong to J.K. Rowlings.  Flitwick's first name I made up, as I can't recall it ever mentioned in the HP series.  Lynn Alkaiser belongs to me. I first meant this to be only one chapter, but as the first was short, I decided to post the next chapter up also.

Blaise Zabini looked over at Lynn from across the crystal ball.

            Carefully checking to make sure Trelawny was out of hearing range she whispered, "You don't see anything in there, do you?"

            Lynn smiled helplessly at the Slytherin and shook her head.  "I was hoping that you would, actually."

            "Now, class," Trelawny's voice slithered across the walls of the classroom.  "After today's lesson, I expect you to be able to at least see some sort of shape in the Crystal, be it distinguishable or not," she sniffed, inhaling a toxic amount of the thick perfume wafting in the room.

            "Wednesday, I expect you to hand in a fifteen inch essay, describing exactly what you saw in it today."

            The black haired Slytherin smirked.  Lynn only stared.

            "Homework on the first day of school," Zabini scoffed quietly.  Then seeing Lynn's worried expression, she waved an impatient hand at her.  "Don't worry…we'll just improvise it a bit," the corners of her mouth tugged dangerously upwards.  

            Noticing the, "we," Lynn glanced at her partner dubiously, then back into the crystal ball.

            If she squinted, the wisps of fog _seemed_ to take the shape of a…  Well, regardless, they took _some_ sort of shape, and she supposed that was all that mattered.

            The bell rang then, and Lynn scooped up her bags and pieces of parchment.

            When she looked up, she was surprised to see the Slytherin waiting for her by the trapdoor.

            "We have a half an hour break before next period," Blaise informed her.  "We have one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  I need to go see Professor Snape about something…"  She cleared her throat and looked away from Lynn, "Will you come with me?"

            Something about the way Blaise phrased the last question made Lynn smile. 

            She had heard students talking about him, and from what she heard, he was…shall we say, not well liked?  Apparently, from Blaise's reaction, he even made students in his own house nervous.  

Though, in Blaise's case, it might be for different reasons.

            She gave Blaise a nod and was awarded with grateful smile.

            "My parents are both wizards," Lynn said as the two girls descended down a flight of stairs.

            "Mother's a… 'pure blood', do you call them?  …But my dad's half and half."

            Blaise nodded and rolled her eyes.

            "My family's just as pure as you can get, I guess," she shrugged, as if not really caring for the topic.

            "But then again, so are most in Slytherin," she flashed Lynn a sardonic smile.

            "You'll find that most of Slytherin is related in some way, be it distant or not."  

            She was quiet a moment, then she spoke suddenly.

            "As a matter of fact, I think Professor Snape is a distant cousin of my brother-in-law's.  
            Lynn looked at her a moment, but said nothing upon the matter.

            Wizarding politics was not a subject she was familiar with.

            Descending another flight of stairs, the girls were enveloped in a sudden draft of cold air.

            "Dungeons?"

            Blaise nodded and smirked, seeing Lynn tighten her robes around herself.

            "You get used to it after a while…  I suppose he doesn't heat it because of the cauldron fires…"            

            Lynn pointed out that no one any classes, much less Potion's during break and Blaise forced out a laugh in the bitter cold of the hallway.

            "True…maybe our dear professor prefers it this way…"

They arrived at the doorway and Blaise lifted a hand to knock when Lynn halted her, hearing voices on the other side.

            Blaise looked at her in confusion until Lynn mouthed, "There's someone else in there."

            The two girls pressed their ears against the doorway, Lynn at the top and Blaise at the bottom.  

            Flitwick's voice echoed throughout the Potion's Chamber.

            "Do you think we've made any progress, Severus?" 

            Instead of the cold and bitter remark Blaise was used to, her professor's tone was tired and downcast.   

            "I doubt it, Gregory…  But the clock is ticking and we've made little, if any advances on the Wolfsbane Charm."

            The last phrase had two very different effects on the girls.

            Blaise only perked her ear up further and strained to hear more.

            Lynn's eyes widened and she nearly fell over on top of Blaise.

            She only saved by the heavy doorframe she was holding herself against. 

            Professor Flitwick started saying something, but stopped and Lynn got the impression that the Potion's Master held up a hand to quiet him.

            Lynn thought she heard him utter something, but she wasn't quite sure.

            "Miss Zabini, unless you and your friend would prefer to eavesdrop on Professor Flitwick and myself, I would advise you to come in."  Blaise widened her eyes, and Lynn lost her hold on the doorframe, falling gracelessly on top of the Slytherin.

            Snape opened the doorway, revealing the two girls sprawled all over the floor.

            The two quickly scrambled to their feet.

            Lynn recognized the man behind Snape as her Charms professor – she had had his class today, and she turned her attention instead to the man looming over herself and her friend.

            He was tall.  About as tall as Professor Lupin, but then again, she thought, she had read somewhere about magical people being taller than muggles; something to do with the magic in their bodies.  Most of the men Lynn had seen were muggles, rather than magical folk and she supposed this was why she wasn't used to the height of wizards; though Professor Flitwick, seemed to be an exception to this.  

            Professor Snape had dark looming eyes and slick black hair that hung just above his shoulders.

            His skin was a bit sallow, and he had a long hooked nose that he looked down at you from.

            His shoulders drooped a little, as if from exhaustion and Lynn could tell by the way he was standing that he usually had straight-as-a-board posture most of the time.              When he spoke, she could see his yellowed teeth and she supposed he cared little about dental care and other sorts of hygiene.    

            His robes were black, like many of the professors, but unlike her other teachers, he apparently was wearing all black underneath.

            All this she took in in a matter of a few seconds and she averted her eyes before he caught her staring.

            "This had better be terribly important, Miss Zabini," said a low voice coming from the back of his throat, and he took a step towards them, deliberately invading their personal space. 

            His voice sent a shiver up her spine, and Lynn instinctively started to take a step backwards, but she saw Blaise hold her ground from the corner of her eye, so she gulped and remained standing there.

            "Uh…no, Professor," her friend said quickly.  "It can wait."

            He nodded once and began to turn when he suddenly took notice of his student's companion.       

            He rounded on Lynn, who this time, retreated back a step.

            "And what, praytell, is your name, child?" he narrowed his eyes at her.

            She spoke out, and she was pleased to note that her voice sounded much stronger than she felt at the time.  "Lynn Alkaiser."

            She saw his eyes widen for a split-second and she felt, rather than saw his eyes skim over her.  

            "So…" he breathed.  "New student…I hope you have accumulated a sufficient amount of potion's knowledge from wherever you came from," he went on in that silky voice of his.  "I have no patience for incompetent dunderheads in my class."

            And with that, he bid them good day and retreated back into his classroom, his robes billowing behind him dramatically.

            Professor Flitwick raised an amused eyebrow at his colleague and smiled almost reassuringly at the girls, giving them a courteous nod.

            After the door closed, Blaise and Lynn took one look at each other and walked away from the dungeons as fast as they could without attracting too much attention.

Blaise propped herself across Lynn's bed.  

            Dumbledore had decided to give the Alkaisers rooms of their own, due to their condition, and rather than placing them near their house dormitories, he thought it best not to separate them.  They each stayed in the guest regions of the castle and shared a small, two-bedroom chamber just south of the Kitchens.  

            Blaise hadn't asked; she assumed it was because Lynn would only be staying for the year that they hadn't bothered finding her a dormitory.  

            So that's where Lynn and Blaise were now.  Allen was out with those boys they had met on the train, so the latter didn't feel uncomfortable in the chamber.

             Lynn had been chewing on her lower lip for a while.  "Why'd you suppose they'd be working on a Wolfsbane charm?  I thought the potion worked well enough…?  And what did they mean by, 'running out of time?'"

            She shrugged. "Beats me."  She looked thoughtful for a second, "But…" she trailed off.  

            "What?"  

            Blaise looked at her a second and shrugged.  "No harm in telling you, but…" 

            She lowered her voice, "You know when You-Know-Who died…not all of his followers just disappeared."

            Lynn sat up and stared at her with her amber eyes, intrigued.

            "Not many people know it but…there are still mobs of _them_ out there."  She looked lost in her thoughts, "Biding their time…organizing for something…and there are…certain creatures that they would rather…" she stopped there and laughed. "I must sound like some paranoid dolt, saying all this."

            Lynn only forced a smile and shook her head.  "No…It's odd…being homeschooled, I guess I never realized just how bad things were…  I never realized…" she trailed off.

            Blaise nodded understandingly, her pale blue eyes piercing.  "Those were hard times…still are, for some people."  

            She suddenly remembered the train incident and the rumors on how Professor Lupin was fired from his job for being a…for what he was. 

            "Like Professor Lupin," she thought out loud.     

            She didn't realize she had spoken until Blaise followed up on it.  

            "Yes…like poor Professor Lupin."  

            Lynn looked up at the Slytherin and by studying her expression, she wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not.

            Blaise stood up.          

            "I'd better go before Millicent and Pansy start wondering…" she sighed and shook her head.

            "I'll see you tomorrow."

The Meeting

Dumbledore's uncharacteristically melancholy eyes stared down at the Potion's and Charm's professors from beneath his lenses.

            "And how's the Wolfsbane charm coming along, gentlemen?"

            Snape narrowed and averted his eyes, arms crossed over his chest looking much like the over-grown bat Madam Pomfrey was fond of referring to him by.  

            Tiny Professor Flitwick piped up, his head barely seen from behind the long table that the entire staff, was sitting around.  That is, all the staff except Remus Lupin.

            "I'm very sorry to say that we've made little progress.  We've managed to work out the basic parts of the charm, but…" he trailed off sadly and the rest of the staff turned toward the Headmaster.

            Dumbledore appeared to be deep in thought, as he was twirling his fingers around his beard, as he often did when he was contemplating something.

            It was as silent as a grave around the staff table; everyone all around the table, (Sirius Black, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Gregory Flitwick, Sylvia Sinistra, Miranda Sprout, Cynthia Vector, Sybil Trelawney, Argus Filch and the others) were quiet, most of them waiting for Dumbledore to explain the matter.  Only a few of the staff knew the reason behind the meaning.

The headmaster cleared his throat, but didn't speak immediately.  The silence was suddenly broken when Sirius leapt from his chair, scraping it loudly against the floor.  

            "He has a right to know about this!!" he shouted.

            "Sirius…" the Headmaster warned, though not in an unkind tone.  "Please sit down."

            He swallowed and looked around the table, brushing back his long ebony hair.  He reluctantly sat back down after a moment, his dark eyes upon the light colored wood.  A few seats down from Dumbledore, the Astronomy professor met Sirius' eyes for a few fleeting moments.   They stared at each other in silence for a brief while and she broke the stare first, as if restraining herself from saying anything.

             Dumbledore sighed and stood up.

            "As you all are aware of, the Dark Lord's final fall has not diminished the entire Death Eater population."

            He was replied to by an array of nods and murmurs of agreement.

            "The Death Eaters, as I'm sure you all know of, still have a hit list of the many people they would like to…exterminate," he put gently.  

            "Here at Hogwarts, as you all know, we have their number one target."

            Again, he paused, to observe the teachers who now stood still and watched him.  Even Snape didn't flinch when Dumbledore continued.

            "We must continue to keep watch over young Harry Potter.  It's now his final year at the school; I believe that as soon as he is out of the school, Voldemort's minions will double their efforts to capture and destroy him."

            Dumbledore looked around the table.  Most looked at him steadily; two of the staff held his eyes, waiting for him to get to the reason that they knew was the cause of this particular staff meeting. 

            "But the truth is," he continued, his eyes taking on a dead serious look in them that many had never seen before.  "That there are at least two, and perhaps three, more in the school who are in grave danger."

            Sirius finally sat up, paying more attention to the situation at hand, and Snape and Flitwick did likewise.  Sylvia, on the other hand, looked down and away suddenly.

            Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat again.      

            "The Death Eaters have a strong hatred for magical creatures who will not rise or…" he gave a weak smile, "I should say, lower themselves, to serve them."

            Snape looked down at the table and idly noticed that his knuckles were white against the edge of the table he was gripping.

            Dumbledore took a breath and began.

            "The Death Eaters have started building concentration camps all through Europe.  Our spies are not yet aware of the location, nor do they know if this is happening in other countries."

            He looked around the table gravely before proceeding, a slight edge to his tone.

            "I won't waste any more time with introductions; the Death Eaters are kidnapping werewolves all over Britain and gathering them together in concentration camps.  Just where these concentration camps are located…," Dumbledore shrugged.  "We honestly don't know."

            He looked around the table.

            Most of the professors were sitting straight up in their chairs looking either horror-stricken or deeply concerned.

            All except two, who, unlike the others, didn't even meet Dumbledore's eyes.

            "Now," he continued.  "Our plans to protect both Remus Lupin…," he paused.  "And the boy…are - "

            "The boy?" Professor Sprout interrupted.  "Surely, they wouldn't want one as young as…"

            "He's not that young to them, Miranda.  And they do not care of their age," he responded shortly.  "The truth is, they are after British werewolves and they do not care for either who the lycanthropes are, or what their age is."

            Sinistra and Black spent the rest of the meeting staring down at their bone-white hands gripping the table.


	7. What Happened in Flourish and Blott's

What Happened in Flourish and Blott's

"No, Remus!! You can't!!" she yelled near hysteria.

Remus looked at Sylvia in surprise.

            "Sylvia," he laughed.  "I just need to go shopping in Hogsmeade, that's all."

            She hid her trembling hands in the pockets of her sweater.

            "Then…then," she stammered.  "Have Sirius go with you!"

            He gave her a curious look, but smiled and shook his head. "Sirius is busy and can't go. He told me to go tomorrow when he'd be free, but I really need to – "

            "I'll go with you then!"

            He paused, and studied her closed expression.

            Finally, after a moment, he shrugged and nodded. 

            "Very well, I guess if you really want to.  But –"

            She quickly left to get her coat and didn't allow him to finish.

The wind howled and blew viciously against Remus and Sylvia's robes.

            Due to the weather, the streets were deserted, even though it was about two in the afternoon.  The two crouched against the wind and continued their trek towards Flourish and Blott's.

            The musty scent of dust entered their nostrils as Remus held the door open for her.  They presumed the owner was somewhere in the back, as the booth was empty, though surrounded by piles of books and paper.

            The two stood there, rubbing their hands together for warmth.  The bookstore glowed inviting around them, setting a quiet, warm, and comforting tone.  The fire in the back of the room crackled softly.  Almost unconsciously, Sylvia leaned into Remus, trying to get warm.  To her surprise, she felt him wrap his arms around her and hold her to him.

            She shut her eyes tightly, her heart pounding, feeling her body tingling where he was pressed up against her through her robes and coat.  She leaned her head against him, hardly daring to breathe, and listened to his breathing, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest contrasting with that of her own.

            Remus looked down at the woman in his arms in shock.  He hadn't been planning on wrapping his arms around her; it just sort of happened. Though he had to admit, this felt quite nice…natural, even.

            They both held each other for a while, each matching their breathing to the other.

            Slowly, Sylvia looked upwards, not far, because she was only several inches shorter than he.

            Hand met hand, gold eyes met silver, and she was vaguely aware that she was leaning upwards even as he was leaning down.

            They kissed each other softly, almost hesitantly.  And while Remus wondered if they were doing the right thing getting involved this way, Sylvia knew that this moment would live on forever in her dreams, even if he decided to break off whatever they had before it had even begun.

            Remus gently pulled away, and they studied each other's eyes.  They both sprang back from one another when the store manager cleared his throat.

            "Are you both quite finished?"    

Professor Lupin walked through the deserted hallways, the deep sound of his footsteps echoing somewhere far beneath his thoughts.  

            After Flourish and Blott's, he and Sylvia had gone to get a quick mug of butterbeer before returning to the castle.  Neither said much, and no one said anything at all about what happened in Flourish and Blott's.  

            As the two were old friends, they were accustomed to giving each other familiar hugs in departure, but today had been different.  Normally, their hugs were quick and loose, but this time, he found himself holding her just a little closer, and he wondered if he had imagined her holding onto him for just a second longer.  Not that he minded, of course, but –

            "Oh!"

            Gasping, he saw a brief flash of amber before he stumbled back into a wall.

            Recovering his wits, he blinked and looked down at the fallen creature he had stumbled upon.  Lynn Alkaiser.

            She stared wide-eyed up at him.  "Oh, I'm so sorry, Professor Lupin!  I wasn't watching – "

            He laughed and shook his head.  "Don't worry about it," he smiled.  "I wasn't either."  He stepped forward, lifting her up effortlessly off the ground, and she handed him back his papers she had succeeded in scattering upon the floor.  

            He leaned back on his heels and placed his hands back behind his robes and into his trouser pockets.  He hadn't really spoken to her since the night of the full moon two weeks earlier.  She looked much healthier, though still a little pale and tired – not entirely unlike him.

            "What are you doing out so late?"

            Apparently hitting the girl's main concern, she took on a frightened look and quickly began explaining quite rapidly.

            "Well, you see, Professor, I was just… I _tried_ to go to sleep, honest, but you see –"  

            The amused look on his face told her he wasn't going to turn her in.

            She quieted sheepishly and gave him a meek smile.

            "New moon," he commented, glancing out of one of the castle's windows.  

            He nodded once, "I understand."

            Her smiled faded not entirely, and he marveled the sadness revealed in her eyes.

            They studied each other; her the child examining a mentor who seemed to understand her, he the lost soul seeming to find another stray traveler traveling the same road as he.

            Quietly, he repeated himself softly in his rich tone.

            "I understand."

            She opened her mouth to respond, but closed it once a choking sound erupted from her throat.  She sank to her knees and hugged him around his waist, burying her face in his robes.

            Swearing softly, he lowered himself to her level and embraced her comfortingly, suddenly envious that this girl had someone to comfort her who understood what she was going through.  He, unfortunately, never had that same luxury.

            Slowly, she pulled away and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief he offered her.

            "It's not fair," she whispered, a bleak look of despair in her eyes.

            "It's just not fair."

            He forced a small laugh.  "Of course it isn't…it never is."

            The sound of his voice seemed to bring her back, and she hurriedly wiped her eyes again, standing up shortly after he.  

            She glanced away from him, as though ashamed to look him in the face.  "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have…"

            "Nonsense," he cut her off shortly.  "You've nothing to be ashamed of," he added in more quietly.  

            She didn't respond and with a sigh, he looked out at the new moon.

            "You want to come into my office for tea?"  He shook his head.  "I doubt either of us are going to get any sleep tonight."  He turned back away from the moon, as if anxious to get out of its line of vision.

            She looked up at him, looked away and nodded.  "Thank you," she said quietly.

She walked beside him, trying to sneak looks at him whenever possible.

            How did he do it?  How did he manage to cope with it so well?  

            His hair was dusted with strands of silver, his eyes, though bright, looked tired.  Yes…his body was suffering from his condition, and was slowly deteriorating, as would her and Allen's in a few years' time.

            But he had a way of keeping his head held high.  He had a way of keeping his posture sure and steady.  He had his way of looking you directly in the eyes when you spoke, as if everything you had to say mattered, and held a high degree of importance.  Though there was one other, more important thing that amazed her about him.

             He smiled.

            Oh, sure, she and Allen "smiled" all the time.  Everyone smiles.  But it is a rare thing to see a _real_ smile.  A real smile is only possible if one is truly happy, deep inside.  Even if it's only for a split-second.  You can give an imitation, you can curl your lips into the formation.  But you can always tell a real smile from a fake, and Professor Lupin had his many fake smiles; but he also had his real ones, too.

            He glanced at her, giving her one of those in-between smiles.  "Alright, there, Lynn?"

            She gave him a fake smile and nodded once.  

            He stopped in front of the door to his office and pulled out a set or keys from his pocket.  As he unlocked the door, he flashed her a quick smile.  

            "I use both keys and charms to lock my door," he explained, tapping the doorknob with his wand.  "I find it's doubly effective."

            He pushed the door open and held it so, allowing her to walk in first.  

            He shut the door behind him silently and strode across the room, pulling Lynn's chair out for her automatically.  He sat down in front of her and tapped a dark blue teapot that she could have sworn hadn't been there a moment ago.  

            As they waited for the tea to heat up, they both sat in companionable silence.

            Remus looked up from the teapot and he blinked, realizing the girl had been staring at him.  She smiled in apology and looked away.

            The teapot began singing and he poured them a cup of tea.  He handed her a cup and took a sip of his.  

            He studied her over the rim of his cup.  This time, she caught him staring and he looked away, embarrassed.  She set her cup down and smiled in amusement.

            Remus looked up at her to ask her a question. 

"I, ah…" 

She tilted her head at him.  "Yes?"

He looked at her for a moment.

"During your transformation, I noticed that…"

"Oh," she nodded understandingly.  She took a sip of her tea.

"Yes," she continued.  "I got that from my mother.  She turns into a fox on full moons.  My brother, on the other hand, inherited his type of lycanthropy from our father."  She swirled her tea absent-mindedly.  

"So you both were infected – "

"-Since birth," she finished for him.

He nodded and finished his cup of tea quickly.  He couldn't imagine how horrible it must have been for them.  

She took a final draught of her cup and set it down.  They both stood up.  

"Thank you very much for the tea, Professor."

He waved a hand.  "It was nothing, Miss Alkaiser."

He opened the door for her and they both walked together in a comfortable silence.

He left her at her chambers before he continued on toward his rooms.

As he lay down to go to sleep he briefly wondered if perhaps he had overstepped his boundaries today as her professor.  Shaking his head, he decided it didn't really matter.  He was simply trying to help the girl, as he would have liked at her age. 

He closed his eyes and pushed aside the day's events, both at Flourish and Blott's and in his office.  


End file.
